The Columbia Lions and the Fordham Rams meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Rose Hill Gym. Columbia—and the entire Ivy League—were inactive last season so this will be their first meaningful action on a basketball court since March of last year. As for Fordham, they struggled last season. The Rams ended up notching a 2-11 overall record and a last-place finish in the Atlantic 10. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Columbia will be something of an enigma entering this season. The Lions have been off for quite a while, and two of their recruiting classes have yet to see a D-I court. As a whole, the Ivy League will only be bringing back 40.5 percent of their minutes from their last year in action. That doesn’t bode well for chemistry.
Even with all the question marks surrounding the Ivy League, Columbia does boast a few intriguing names. Grad student Luke Bolster and seniors Ben Milstein and Ike Nweke will take captain duties this year. Each of those players brings much-needed wisdom and experience to the squad.
Over on the Fordham side, they’re coming off a forgettable year as well, but for different reasons. The Rams posted an ugly 2-12 mark overall, with a 2-11 record in the Atlantic 10. Fordham finished well behind Saint Joseph’s (3-9) for the basement spot in the standings.
The Rams’ last win came February 6 versus La Salle in a 76-68 result. Fordham would close out the regular season with losses to George Mason and Saint Louis prior to a trio of postponements. In the First Round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the Rams lost to George Washington 53-49.
The Lions are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games and 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 road games. Columbia is 1-5 ATS in their last six overall.
Meanwhile, the Rams are 22-46 ATS in their last 68 at home and 6-19-1 ATS in their last 26 Tuesday games. The under is 20-8-1 in Fordham’s last 29 home games.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Fordham, but probably not going near this game. If the Rams have good news going into the season, it’s that they’re starting relatively fresh. Fordham has just four total returning players this year and has lost their top two scorers in Chris Austin and Joel Soriano. New arrivals Darius Quisenberry and Antonio Daye should help fill those gaps, but the Rams will likely get beaten up by some of the bigger teams in the conference. Still, it should be a step forward for the Rams this year and I like a cover here to start it all off.